Revolution 2022 Review

So, I had originally wanted to write my first AEW Pay-Per-View review after All-Out, but I was still on my deployment, and there simply wasn’t enough time.  It was a bummer, too, because Kenny Omega referenced Steve Urkel and that would have been a fantastic segue from Only Urkel Matters to this review.  Then, during Full Gear in November, I was in the middle of a long road trip (part of which included flying in to Minnesota to view Full Gear in person!).  After watching AEW’s most recent Pay-Per-View, Revolution, I decided that enough was enough.

If you’re looking for more AEW content from me, check out this blog I wrote about the return of CM Punk.

Countdown to Revolution

Countdown is a fantastic documentary/promotion that explains all the ongoing stories and tries to get a few last-minute buys for an upcoming AEW Pay-Per-View.  If you haven’t been following AEW in the months leading up to an event, this is where you should go to catch up.  This particular Countdown did not disappoint, and you should check it out if you have a bit of extra time before watching the event itself.

The Buy-In

If you didn’t have the time to watch Countdown, don’t fret, because this hour-long lead-in to the event has an abbreviated version built around a few matches designed to get the crowd hyped for the pay-per-view.  Speaking of those matches, let’s break them down, shall we?

(All Elite Wrestling)

“Legit” Leyla Hirsch vs Kris Statlander

Match Details:

Of all the matches held on this night, this one came with the least amount of hype, and that’s a damn shame, because these two women brought it.  Of course, the lack of hype is their own fault, considering they built up to the match by having the babyface say the sentence “I don’t blame your parents for giving you up (for adoption),” and having various backstage segments involving the extremely green Red Velvet.  All of that terribleness was worth it to get this match, which was a great bout that got the crowd buzzing (and they would stay buzzing until later in the night, when they very much crashed; more on that later).  The step-up hurricarana off the ring apron was a thing of beauty.  I’ve seen some people call that a botch, but it looked great to me.  I’m normally not into finishes that involve cheating (WWE PTSD), but there wasn’t too much of that going on during this show and this match was on the Buy-In, after all.  Plus, I think it does wonders for Hirsch going forward to beat a top tier wrestler like Statlander, and it doesn’t hurt Kris because of the chicanery at the end (Leyla hit Statlander with a loose turnbuckle that was just chilling under the ring).  It was really a good match, and I’m not just saying that because Leyla looked at me like that.

Finish:

Leyla pinned Statlander after a beautiful moonsault (which occurred immediately after the previously stated chicanery).

Rating:

7.6 out of 10

(All Elite Wrestling)

Interview Segment: Tony Schiavone interviews Kenny Omega

Only it wasn’t Kenny Omega!  My biggest laugh of the night came when Kenny’s music hit and the crowd popped hard, only for AEW’s most beloved carnie scumbag, Don Callis to enter the arena instead.  I love this kind of shit.  It always pisses the crowd off so much and cracks me up.  Callis blames the crowd for the injuries that have kept Omega on the shelf and compliments but doesn’t compliment Adam Cole, setting up a future feud between the two sections of The Elite.  I’m curious to see who the Young Bucks will side with!

(All Elite Wrestling)

QT Marshall vs Hook

Match Details:

My God, what a job AEW has done building Hook.  His music and look are awesome.  He’s destroying people in minutes, and it’s awesome.  The fact that his father (ECW legend and WWE alumni Tazz) provides color commentary over all his matches is awesome.  People have been clamoring for more and more of this kid, and AEW has been smart to continue limiting his appearances.  It’s basic supply and demand.  This match, with his longtime trainer QT Marshall, marks the next step in Hook’s development.  It still wasn’t a long match, but it showed that Hook can sell a bit, too.  QT having to use all of his veteran guile and underhanded tricks to get some offense in made Hooks seem even more like a monster threat.  So yes, the match was short, but it was fun, and it did what it needed to do to further Hook’s progression.

Finish:

Hook put QT Marshall to sleep with the Red Rum.

Rating:

6.8 out of 10

(All Elite Wrestling)

House of Black (Buddy Matthews, Brody King and Malachai Black) vs Pac, Penta Oscuro and Erick Redbeard

Match Details:

When Erick Redbeard showed up on last week’s Dynamite, there was a lot of excitement on the internet, excitement which I frankly did not share.  I was only familiar with his WWE work, which amounted to mostly “also tall, not as talented” member of his tag team with the late Mr. Brodie Lee.  However, he really showed me something in this match, which included a lot of my favorite wrestlers and had so many highlights that it would be very difficult to include them without going into list form.  Here, then, is that list:

• Penta and Matthews had some cool, back and forth moments at the beginning of this match.  It’s good to see Penta get some attention.  I love Fenix, but Penta also rules, and it’s good to see him shine more than he has at any other time outside of Lucha Underground.

• The sequence where the two big men in the match, Brody King and Redbeard, attacked each other with their shoulders was a lot of fun.

• Malachai Black smiling despite himself in the corner as he cringed at how hard Brody King chopped Pac.

• Pentagon’s hot tag shenanigans, culminating in his cazadora into a destroyer move that blows my mind every single time.

• Erik Redbeard suddenly being able to do cool shit, like his slingshot senton into the ring that was a tribute to Brodie Lee.

• The Fear Factor on the apron, which was gruesome to watch.

• The finish, which was the right decision.  House of Black shouldn’t be losing, especially not in Buddy Matthews’ first match with them.  Not sure if Redbeard is sticking around, so he’s the logical guy to take the pin.

All in all, this was an incredibly fun match, and it got me hyped for the main show.

Finish:

Malachi Black spit poison mist into Redbeard’s eyes, Matthews hit him with a running knee (best in the business from anyone not named Kenny Omega), and King piledrove him for the pin.

Rating:

8.8 out of 10

Revolution Main Show:

Chris Jericho vs Eddie Kingston

Match Details:

This one started out with a bang, as Kingston hit a gruesome half and half suplex right after the bell rang.  This was the story of the whole match.  They did this so that the crowd would get hot and cheer for Kingston, which Jericho could then get “mad” at.  He flipped off the crowd, signaling that he would be the heel going forward.  It’s difficult for Jericho to be the bad guy these days, because his theme song is so kick ass that people go crazy the moment it hits.  They continued to do cool shit from there.  Eddie pulling down his singlet so that they could chop the hell out of each other on an equal plane was so badass!  Also, I didn’t notice until I saw this match how good of shape Jericho was in.  When was the last time he was agile enough to pull off the Lionsault without being clunky?   Jericho did some great old-school Jericho stuff too.  Pushing Aubrey Edwards is such a great way to get heat; she’s universally beloved by the fans, as evidenced by the “Aubrey” chants that broke out as soon as she pushed Jericho back.   I guess my only complaint is that I don’t get why Jericho did Ethan Page’s signature taunt.  Was there a reference to something Ethan did in the match?  Maybe he was just taking a Page out of his book.

Finish:

Eddie Kingston hits Jericho with two spinning backwards fists, then forces him to submit to the stretch plum.  After the match, Jericho refused to shake Kingston’s hand, signaling that he will be continuing on as a heel, at least until he Fozzy’s out for a while.

Rating:

8.5 out of 10

(All Elite Wrestling)

Triple Threat Match for the AEW Tag Team Championship: Jurassic Express (C) vs reDRagon vs Young Bucks

Match Details:

One thing that I’ve loved about AEW is that when they’ve done triple threat tag team matches, they’ve had one person from each team in the ring at the same time.  This makes more sense to me than WWE’s way of doing things, which is to have only two men in the ring at once while the other team must wait to tag someone who isn’t even on their team so they can enter the match.   It gives a clear advantage to the two teams who started the match, as that third team could technically go the whole match without ever being involved.  It’s like when you’re shooting pool, and someone can break and then never give their opponent the opportunity to shoot.  Give me a contest where everyone gets an equal shot, like rebuttals during a game of beer pong (which is actually called “Beirut” the way most people play, but I digress).  This time, AEW chose to go the WWE route, and I understood why they did it, because the story of the match (at least in the early going) is that the Bucks and reDRagon are working together.  Still, this is something that always bothers me, and I took a full point off of the match rating, which I know everyone will take super seriously.  Honestly, the “story” doesn’t really work for me anyway.  They clearly don’t like each other, would both teams try to pretend to be getting along just to appease Adam Cole?  I feel like he wouldn’t give a shit.  Anyway, let’s get to the match.  It’s another multi-man match, so why don’t we go back to the bullet point system?

• Since I told you that I took a point off because of the tag rules, I feel like I should also tell you that I added .4 points for Bobby Fish’s running commentary throughout this match.  Why is he being picked up so much clearer than everyone else?  Is he actively yelling?

• Is there anyone with a more fire hot tag than Luchasaurus?  These smaller dudes seem to love taking his bumps with absolute gusto.  (Also, I got a small thrill from adding “Luchasaurus” to my Microsoft Word dictionary)

• Apropos of nothing, here’s another dope destroyer GIF.

• How much core strength does it take to do a tip-up while holding onto to two people’s throats?  Luchasaurus is jacked.

• I’ve never seen a cooler Doomsday Device.

• It happens in almost every AEW match, but I don’t get tired of dudes (and ladies) repeatedly forearming each other in the face.

• No bigger HOLY SHIT moment than Jungle Boy’s shooting star press to Kyle O’Reilly while Kyle had Luchasaurus locked in a front chancery.  The fact that it was immediately followed up with a Nick Jackson 450 just made it even more insane.  Super creative and fun.

• How great is Excalibur on commentary?  He knows every single move’s name, which is more than I can say for his WWE counterparts and seems to drop a fun line at least once a night.   My favorite for tonight?  When Kyle O’Reilly broke up the pin after a BTE Trigger (normally the end of the night for anyone who’s hit by one) on Jungle Boy, Excalibur exclaimed, “One, Two, ohh….Reilly!”

Finish:

Jurassic Express hit their self-titled finishing maneuver on Matt Jackson to retain their titles

Rating:

8.3 out of 10

(All Elite Wrestling)

Face of the Revolution Ladder Match (winner gets a shot at the TNT Championship): Christian Cage vs Powerhouse Hobbs vs Ricky Starks vs Wardlow vs Keith Lee vs Orange Cassidy

Match Details:

Not to play Monday Morning Quarterback (Or Wednesday, or Thursday Morning; this thing is taking forever to write), but at this point I’m questioning having most of the multi-man matches be so early in the show.  They’re all so stimulating that the crowd can’t help but wear themselves out, and we’re just over an hour into the main show.  Perhaps this would have been a better spot for either the TBS or AEW women’s titles.  I personally think maybe the Britt Baker match would have been the right choice here, especially since it’s the only one with a less than solid finish.  I’m getting ahead of myself, though.  Let’s get right into the bullet points for this one.

• Orange Cassidy using his fan-favorite “lazy” gimmick to get on top of Keith Lee’s shoulders and try to steal the match right away was hilarious.  This could easily be a super tired act, but he keeps evolving it in ways that are so fun.

• Speaking of those fun ways, he tries to climb the ladder with his hands in his pockets a few minutes later.  How can you not love this guy?  Oh, you’re Jim Cornette?  Never mind.

• They recreated the Keith Lee is lurking bit!  Fantastic.  They know what I want.

• Keith Lee using Orange Cassidy as a weapon is fun in concept, but definitely lacked in execution.

• Wardlow knowing he could throw Keith Lee off the ladder but instead choosing to alert Lee to his presence and give him a chance to fight him one-on-one made him look tough as nails.  Wardlow is becoming a monster in AEW, and when he finally officially turns on MJF it’s gonna get a pop as big as the time Batista gave Triple H the thumbs down.  See also: my favorite face turn of all time.  I also loved that Willie Hobbs could have chosen to become involved in their stare down, but chose the practical method of hitting them both with a ladder instead.

• Speaking of Hobbs (these things are flowing from one thing to the next; great storytelling), I loved that he and Ricky Starks exchanged a handshake before they both went for the Sonic the Hedgehog Ring at the top of the ladder.  Heels can have genuine friendship too!  Warmed my heart.  Wrestling rules.

• Starks then takes a bullet aimed at Hobbs when Orange Cassidy starts spinning the ladder around with his head.  I’ve always hated when people do this in ladder matches, because it should be super easy to stop.  Because they love me, AEW addresses this by having Wardlow and Keith Lee grab the ladder on each side.  Cassidy makes an all-time “I’m afraid” face, and then skins the cat up onto the ladder, which delighted me even more.  His desire to take the easy way out is true to his character, and ends with him crotched on the ladder, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.  I also adored Keith Lee’s “Oh well!” face.

• It cracked me up that Tazz hates Cassidy because Tazz used to wear orange.

• A spear through a ladder?  Are you kidding me, Ricky Starks?  Coolest spear in a ladder match since Christian lost his Edge (©Max Caster).

• It was a little clunky and made no sense when Wardlow found himself in the ring alone with a chance to win and instead chose to go outside the ring and fight Keith Lee with Powerhouse Hobbs.  I know that led to the stage bump (and was a distraction while Christian set up ladders in random formations in the ring), but it felt unnecessary.

• I love how Danhaussen walks. He has the posture of a grandfather, and it suits him.

Finish:

Wardlow sloppily powerbombs Starks from the ladder onto another ladder, retrieves the ring, and becomes Face of the Revolution (and Dr. Robotnik’s new nemesis).

Rating:

8.0 out of 10

 

Tony Schiavone introduces “surprise” new roster member:

I put “surprise” in quotes because he does a terrible job at hiding the reveal:

(All Elite Wrestling)

Shane “Swerve” Strickland has arrived, and if I had just known him from his WWE days as Isiah Scott, this would not have moved the needle for me.  However, I had the good fortune of seeing his Lucha Underground fight vs AR Fox, so I know what he can do for this brand.  It’s an exciting signing, as AEW continues to bring in talented people who didn’t get a fair shot elsewhere.

(All Elite Wrestling)

TBS Championship, Jade Cargill (C) vs Tay Conti

Match Details:

You can tell a lot about the buildup for this match by the lack of a pre-match promotional video.  This is the second women’s match the I’m writing about, and it’s the second time I complained about a lack of story.  That tells you that AEW needs to do a better job of storytelling when it comes to their women’s division.  I understand that WWE has horded a great deal of female wrestling talent, but even though AEW can’t sign those wrestlers (yet), they can invest a bit more time in the writing department.  It's a bit less noticeable here than it was earlier because a title is involved, but if you want the TBS title to mean something, you have to establish prestige.  The way you do that is by creating memorable feuds.  Anyway, the build-up to the match wasn’t very memorable, but the entrances certainly were!  I enjoyed that Tay Conti was escorted to the ring by the illustrious -1 (I miss Brodie), and King Fish slayed Jade’s live entrance music.   Jade comes out of the gates aggressively, giving Tay the mob boss kiss of death and letting her know that by the end of the night she was going to be sleeping with the King Fishes (sorry, Sammy, but I’m not gonna to ignore a gift joke like this).  On my first watch, I remember thinking that this match was just “okay,” but there was a lot of stuff to like!  Jade had me laughing with her mockery of Tay’s jujitsu background.  I also had a good chuckle when Tay went for a senton on Jade, missed, and took out my favorite current manager, Smart Mark Sterling (great name).  Mark’s misfortune wasn’t the part I laughed at, exactly, but when Jade saw what had happened, turned and booted Conti’s partner Anna Jay in the face as revenge, that’s what got me.  I defy you to watch that without laughing.  That opened the door for Anna to hit Jade with a chair behind the ref’s back and not seem like a dickhead.  All good stuff!  The problem with this match is that nothing is smooth.  They went for a lot of cool stuff, but everything just seemed a little…well, not botchy.  They didn’t really screw up.  Glitchy?  I think the problem is that these two women are both relatively inexperienced.  I believe in them both, though, and I have high hopes for the future of the AEW women’s division.

Finish:

Cargill hit Conti with Jaded to retain her championship and improve to 29-0

Rating

7.0

(All Elite Wrestling)

Dog Collar Match, CM Punk vs Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF)

Match Details

So, I was looking forward to this match, but I wasn’t.  The story these two have been telling has been fantastic, my personal favorite in quite some time, but I don’t see either of them as ring generals at this point (Punk has been one in the past, and MJF may be on his way there).  They’ve both had some good bouts recently, but being tied together can really limit what two people can do in a ring.  They went to the “False Entrance music” well again, but with a little twist.  “Cult of Personality” hits, and the fans go nuts.  It’s probably the second most popular entrance song in the company (the most popular being Judas, obviously), and they were hyped to sing it.  Speaking of which, this guy was hyped for the entire show.  I’ve been to two AEW shows in the past year, and I can only describe the crowds of people I attended to as “cynical.”  To see this guy just having a good time for the whole show warmed my heart.  He’s got my Fan of the Year vote.  Anyway, after a few moments, COP cuts off, and MJF’s music (which is an absolute bopper in its own right) hits.  The crowd is rightfully pissed off, and MJF smirks his way to the ring.  This was another hilarious move, and the reason they did it is immediately obvious.  After MJF makes it to the ring, the lights dim, and smoke comes out of the stage.  The music begins, and it’s Punk’s music from his Ring of Honor days, “Miseria Cantare” by the band AFI.  Now, a lot of people marked out at this entrance, but as a guy who didn’t watch much ROH, it really didn’t do much for me.  I understand why it’s cool for a lot of other people, though.  That kind of sums up this whole match for me.  Not everything in AEW is meant for me, and I get that.  The story of the match is that to defeat his young nemesis, CM Punk has to go to place in his head that he hasn’t gone in years.  This is emphasized by the music, and by Punk being addressed by ring announcer Justin Roberts (AKA the Dapper Yapper, a dope fucking nickname) as “The Second City Saint” as he used to be in the past.  I’m not gonna lie, MJF trying to escape when he’s literally attached at the neck to CM Punk had me laughing.  If you didn’t expect blood in this match, you’re out of your mind.  Punk is “busted wide open” only a few minutes in the match.  While I think blood should be included in wrestling matches only sparingly, even I have to admit that it makes sense for Punk to bleed here since he has a fresh wound from being cut on the previous Wednesday’s Dynamite.  Punk goes after Max’s right hand, which is smart, because MJF ends matches two ways, and they both involve using his right hand.  This match is more barbaric than I usually want, but I have to admit they told an intelligent story.  After a while, MJF bleeds himself.  Not for me, fam.  Later in the match (after a moment or two when the chain between them gets caught in the ropes and grinds the match to a standstill), Punk delivers a wicked Tombstone Piledriver onto the apron.  That was pretty gnarly looking.  Speaking of gnarly, there was so much blood in this match that the referee went through two pairs of gloves.  I’ve never seen that before, and I don’t want to see it again.  MJF sprinkles some tacks in the ring, and that’s yet another thing that I don’t want to see again.  It’s played out as hell.  Max superplexes Punk onto the tacks, which gets a huge pop from the crowd.  I watched it with a blank look on my face.  MJF calls for Wardlow, who swaggers out looking like a million bucks.  Finally, I’m intrigued again.  MJF asks for the Dynamite Diamond Ring, which he uses to knock out opponents, but Wardlow can’t find it in his jacket.  MJF curses him out, and walks into a GTS from Punk.   He falls hard, onto the tacks.  At this point, Wardlow looks Punk dead in the eye and “finds” the diamond ring, which he leaves “for MJF” on the apron.  Then he walks out of the arena, to loud “Wardlow” chants.  Punk grabs the ring, and shows it to MJF, who spits in his face in defiance.

Finish

CM Punk hits MJF with his own Dynamite Diamond Ring for the pin.  Not a terrible match by any standards, but definitely not close to the best of the night either.  It’s a tough grading curve.  The best thing that can be said about it is that it feels like the end of fantastic MJF/CM Punk feud, and the start of what could be a huge one between Max and Wardlow.

Rating

6.9

AEW Women’s Championship: Dr. Britt Baker, DMD (C) vs Thunder Rosa

Match Details:

So, I think my initial reaction to this match was a bit unfair.  As I alluded to before, the crowd lost a good deal of its energy, and it happened right after the Punk/MJF match.  This match, which I thought after my first viewing was bad, was actually pretty…okay.  It was okay.  That’s not what you love to hear, especially when you consider the amount of talent in the ring, and how good their lights-out match was, and how much talent is out there.  I adore Rebel and Jamie, Britt is insanely charismatic, and Rosa is one of the best wrestlers on the planet.  The problem for this match was the ending.  It’s the same ending that every single Britt Baker match has had since she’s become champion, and it’s becoming a bit stale.  My buddy Geoff sent me the following text after the match ended, and I think he summed it up quite nicely:

“…Honestly my only complaint is that Britt desperately needs a refresh. The interference shit is so fucking overdone at this point. I like Britt, Rebel, and Jamie, but it's the same thing every single defense. It seems they're building toward Rosa winning in her hometown on St. Patrick's Day, so maybe they're gonna have Jamie and Britt split in the next week?”

My feelings exactly, with the exception being that I think Britt losing her title will be the thing that causes the split between her and Jamie.  If the ending is building towards something in the future, great.  I haven’t watched this week’s Dynamite (or watched or read any wrestling coverage) because I wanted to have a clear mind for this insanely long review (I’m at 4,336 words right now, and we still have three matches left ☹).  I can tell you that nothing in this match spoke to me, but I had it rated at a 6.5 before the ending caused me to take off half a point, so if it turns out that they’re using the ending to tell a good story, go ahead and make it a 6.5 in your head.

Finish:

After several distractions from Jamie Hayter and Rebel (not Reba), Dr. Britt Baker hit Thunder Rosa with a curb-stomp to retain her AEW Women’s Championship.

Rating:

6.0 out of 10

(All Elite Wrestling)

Jon Moxley vs The American Dragon, Brian Danielson

Match Details:

This was the match I was looking forward to most, and not just because I like when Roberts yells, “JEHAAAAAAN MOXXXXXXLAYYYY!”  It didn’t disappoint.  They wrestled like two guys that had been wrestling for a decade (which they have), instead of doing the thing where they pretend they’ve never wrestled before.  They had counters to moves, counters to those counters, and counters to those counters to those counters.  The crowd was even more dead than they had been for the women’s title match (which I get, it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to assemble in large groups and our social meters are a lot lower), but Tony Schiavone was getting so excited that he couldn’t help but stand up.  The first time I watched the match, I’ll admit that I was just as fatigued as they were, but I enjoyed this so much the second time I watched it.  If I had to make a complaint, it would be that these guys shouldn’t be cutting themselves so much.  If you bleed, that’s cool, but I think we’re past the point in wrestling fandom where we want blood twice a day.  Lots of highlights in this match, including:

• Moxley waiting patiently for Danielson to get out of the ropes, and then calmly slapping him in the face instead of rushing in, getting broken up by the ref and then cheap-shotted like most dumbass faces.

• Danielson going for his trusty “Yes!” kicks (or whatever the AEW equivalent is), and Mox knowing the deal and covering his head, but Danielson knowing that he’d know and kicking him in the stomach instead.

• I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy rake another guy’s back so hard that he drew blood before.  I’m not sure I love it, but it was interesting!

• The measured punches to the face at the end of the match were absolutely brutal.

Finish:

Mox reverses the aforementioned punches to the face into a pin for the win.  After the match, the two came to blows once again, and my dream of seeing these two guys start a group together started slipping away, only for William Freakin’ Regal to pull them apart and make them shake hands.  I want to thank WWE for releasing Regal, because the only thing cooler than Mox and Dragon teaming up for an Evolution style faction is for Regal to be the Flair to their collective Triple H.  Now they’ll just need a heater.  I know of a particularly large fella who’s about to be leaving a group.  (Remember, I haven’t seen Dynamite yet.  This could be so fucking incorrect)

Rating:

9.1

(All Elite Wrestling)

Six-Man Tornado Tag, AHFO (Andrade El Idolo, Matt Hardy and Isiah Kassidy) vs Sammy Guevara, Sting, and Darby Allin

Match Details:

I have a hard time caring about this match, because it doesn’t seem like there’s real consequences, and I wish two of the six guys wrestling in it would just go away.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Sting.  When amongst my friends, I never refer to him as Sting, but as Darby Allin’s BFF.  Matt Hardy was one of my favorite wrestlers growing up, and he has a genius mind, but my dude can barely walk anymore, and I wish he would just be a manager.  Sadly, all the signs seem to be pointing to a Hardy Boyz (can we call them that in AEW or will it be spelled boiz?) reunion, so it seems like we’ll be getting more of Matt wrestling instead of less.  That all being said, the other four guys can really go, so I was just hoping for something entertaining. I got that, and then some:

• Andrade finally got some shine!  The problem with having this much talent on one roster and having only three hours of wrestling a week is that sometimes good wrestlers sit on the back burner for a while (see also: Miro).  Andrade has a flurry of offense at the beginning of the match, culminating in him casually throwing a trash can at Sting and making me giggle.

• Sammy’s cutter, which never fails to amaze me.  He and Fenix can do things that don’t even make sense to me.

• Speaking of Sammy, the way he sells this in this match is legendary.  I think Sammy works better as a heel (because he’s too good looking and it’s easy to rub that in people’s faces), but his work as TNT champion has been Dynamite (tee-hee!), and he has been working overtime making his opponents look good.  Check him out taking a twist of fate like a champ, or when he appears to have been murdered by this chair.

• “Gene Snitsky” pulling security ring-side.  Glad to see he got off the roids.

• The silly-string is a cool fucking move, but I’d like to see Private Party get more to do than be background actors in Matt Hardy’s promos and occasionally scream like women (although that does always get a smile out of me).  I was there in Boston the night they upset the Young Bucks in the tournament to crown the first ever tag team champions (banger of a match, by the way), and it just seems like they should be further along than this.

• I’ve written a ton about Sammy already, but I’d be amiss if I didn’t mention how rad this Spanish Fly was (made even radder by Aubrey’s reaction to it).  Sammy stole the show in this match.

• You’re gonna think I’m shitting on Sting for no reason, but the setting up of three tables on top of each other and Andrade falling down on it to set up Sting jumping on top of him and through all three tables took so long that even though it was visually very cool, I just didn’t care.

• Darby countering the Twist of Hate by hitting Matt with the chair around his neck was pretty freakin’ cool.  Probably Matt’s idea.  Guy’s still a genius.

Finish

Darby Allin completely misses Matt Hardy with a Coffin Drop but Excalibur pretends it connected enough for the win.  A decently fun spot-fest, something enjoyable enough to watch while folding my laundry and getting ready for the Main Event.

Rating:

7.2

(All Elite Wrestling)

Main Event: “Hangman” Adam Page (C) vs Adam Cole

Match Details:

Okay, let’s first address the elephant in the room, shall we?  The crowd, who had been asleep for a while, comes to life, and goes into business for themselves.  They decided that the most important part of the match was that both participants were named Adam.  At first, I found this hilarious, then I was annoyed, and like a good Peter Griffin repeat stuff joke, it became funny again.  So, before I describe what happened in the match, let’s do a quick recap of the “Adam” jokes, baybay.

1.      “Let’s Go Adam”

The first chant.  I can almost guarantee that every single person there became filled with jealousy upon hearing it and decided they would try to one-up it.  Wrestling fans are a fickle beast.

2.      Dueling “Let’s go Adam, Adam Sucks” chants. 

I was still in on the joke at this point, but was then ready to lock in on the match, because after all, there were two world-class performers in the ring.

3.      “Adam”

What?  Come on guys, you’ve already done the joke.  This one was just lazy.  I was getting mad, because all I wanted to do was see a kick-ass match.

4.      “What’s up, Adam, what’s up”

Fuck you.

5.      “We want Adam”

I want to strangle every last one of them.

6.      “This is Adam”

Immediately after a “this is awesome” chant, this was the one that sucked me back in.  Probably my favorite one of the night.

7.      “Fight for Adam”

A funny take on the “fight forever” chant that popped up six or seven years ago and has been quite popular.

Honorable Mention: The “If Adam wins we riot” sign was pretty clever.

To be honest, the “Adam” stuff was very distracting, and it hindered my enjoyment of the match on my first viewing.  The second time I viewed it, however, I realized that it kicked way more ass than I had previously thought.  My initial assessment had been that the match was good, but it turned out to be great.  Here are some of the highlights:

• The Page powerbomb on the apron into an Orihara Moonsault combination was delightful.  Page’s moonsault is underrated; it’s not as good as Io Sharai’s, but it’s sure as shit better than Charlotte Flair’s.

• I’ve seen the moonsault turned into a superkick from Adam Cole before, but it doesn’t make it any less beautiful, and I liked the added wrinkle of Hangman hitting him with a mule kick just before.

• When O’Reilly and Fish came down, I was a bit annoyed.  After all, the erstwhile Undisputed Era interfering in Cole’s matches became old hat years ago.  However, when a distracted Hangman took a superkick from behind, it was almost worth the distraction.  Besides, the most frustrating distraction in this match was the crowd, not reDRagon.

• I was also annoyed when Cole kicked Page in the balls after another diversion from Bobby and Cool Kyle, but his being in a rush afterwards and not removing his knee pad to Lower the Boom was creative, and allowed Page to kick out.  I don’t think I would have noticed that unless Excalibur explained it, so this is one of those rare times in wrestling when telling me after showing me is the right thing to do.  Excalibur seems to have a good sense of when to do both.

• I know the Dead-eye through the table was pretty cool, but this was after the third instance of reDRagon getting involved.  I was relieved when the Dark Order came out to put an end to their involvement (and it’s always good to see John Silver).  I was intrigued by the fact that the Bucks didn’t get involved.  I thought for sure they would and then Omega would come back and wonder why they had Cole’s back but not his.  I don’t see it as a missed opportunity though, because I trust AEW to tell me a good story.  It’s so good to finally have a wrestling company that makes me feel like that.

Finish:

It was at this point that the crowd forgot how cool they were and just enjoyed the ending of the match.  When Hangman tied Cole up in the ropes with his belt (calling back to when Cole did the same to him on the go-home Dynamite), I thought for half a minute that they might be pulling a double turn.  But that wouldn’t have made much sense, and Hangman Lowers the Boom on Cole (I always pop when someone steals their opponent’s finisher, going back to the days of Stone Cold and Rock ripping each other off multiple times a match), rolls out of the ring, and hits the Buckshot Lariat to retain his title.

Rating:

8.7 out of 10

All things being said, this was a fantastic PPV, and one deserving of the time it took me to write a nearly 7,000-word book report.  I enjoyed doing this, and if you guys don’t hate on me too much for my lack of punctuality, maybe I’ll do it again in the future.  If you’ve stuck around this long, you deserve my thanks.